A SERIAL flasher has been jailed for carrying out a terrifying campaign of stalking against a female psychologist.

Shane Turner from Tavistock became obsessed with the psychologist after she treated him seven years ago and he carried on following her around after a court had banned him from any contact with her.

At the same time he was lurking around alleys in the Cowick Street area of Exeter and exposing himself to women on 11 different occasions.

He appeared out of a alley in the early hours of the morning when lone women were walking home from pubs or clubs and flashed his private parts.

He sometimes wore clothes on his top half but on other occasions was seen walking or cycling while wearing only a beanie hat.

He was caught when police mounted a special operation in Cowick Street and waited beside his BMX bike for him to pick it up.

Officers found a photo of the psychologist in the visor of Turner’s car, items of clothing stolen from her bins, and photographs of her house when they searched his home. He had also written notes containing his sexual fantasies.

Turner, 45, admitted breaching a restraining order and 11 counts of exposure and was jailed for a total of ten months by Judge Michael Cullum at Exeter Crown Court.

The judge told Turner: ‘The details of your notes and the amount of possessions you removed from her home make it quite obvious you had been watching her for a very significant period, at a time when you were subject to a restraining order.

‘You were acting under a compulsion. You were also regularly and repeatedly exposing yourself to women in what would appear to be another compulsion.

‘The victims obviously felt discomfort and concern about your activities, which were sufficiently prolific for the police to mount a specific operation to catch you.’

Michael Brown, prosecuting, said the exposures all happened between April and September in or just off Cowick Street in the early hours.

A stream of victims complained of seeing Turner going in and out of alleyways or cycling down the street naked and with his hand on his private parts.

One woman said she was terrified when Turner followed her for a few yards down the street after he approached her at a bus stop while wearing only a beanie hat.

Mr Brown said Turner also developed an obsession with a psychologist who treated him in 2009 and his behaviour led to a restraining order being made in December 2015.

He said:’Police found notes which showed he had breached the order. They detailed her life with a concerning degree of precision and clothing was seized which she had thrown away in recycling.

‘There were details of her car and times when her lights at home went on and off and the colour of the blinds in her windows. Clearly he must have been to her home in breach of the order.

‘There was sexually explicit content in the notes which detailed his obsession with her and he freely admitted stalking her.

‘She has made an impact statement saying she has been frightened and distressed and is considering relocating because she no longer feels comfortable in this area.’

Barry White, defending, said Turner had a personality disorder, suffered from social isolation and would be better off being treated in the mental health system than locked up.

He said: ‘He exhibits other kinds of compulsive behaviour. He is a hoarder. He is the archetypal sad loner and he needs some form of assistance.’